


On the Eve of a New Year

by sophh



Series: An Artist and Her Muse [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Draco's Den, F/M, Let the New Year Slither In, New Year's Eve
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-20
Updated: 2019-12-20
Packaged: 2021-02-26 02:13:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,352
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21875710
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sophh/pseuds/sophh
Summary: It's New Year's Eve and an encounter with a certain Gryffindor leaves Astoria unable to think about anyone else.
Relationships: Astoria Greengrass & Daphne Greengrass, Colin Creevey/Astoria Greengrass
Series: An Artist and Her Muse [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1934695
Comments: 2
Kudos: 4
Collections: Let the New Year Slither In





	On the Eve of a New Year

**Author's Note:**

> For the Let the New Year Slither In Drabble Fest at Draco's Den.  
> Theme: spending New Year's at Hogwarts.  
> Prompts: Astoria Greengrass and snow.  
> Word count: 1,351
> 
> Huge thanks to Elizabeth for looking over the first part for me! The rest is unbeta'ed because I have too many writing obligations this month and I trust myself not to make any major spelling/grammar errors. ;)

The grounds of Hogwarts were at their most beautiful in the wintertime, Astoria thought as she traipsed through the melting snow. She was carrying her easel and paints, and she had a small wooden stool strapped to her back. Her destination was a spot near the Black Lake, one that she had picked out the day before.

Once she had settled beneath a beech tree at the lake's edge, she started to set up her supplies. First came the easel, which she unfolded and positioned facing the still-frozen body of water, then her paints, lined up neatly along the easel's ledge. Next, she set up her canvas and a cup of brushes. After unstrapping her stool, she was finally ready to work for a few hours.

The best thing about not going home for the Christmas holidays was this — the hours and hours she could dedicate to her craft without the worry of attending parties or whatever equally time-consuming things her parents might come up with.

She selected a brush and a jar of green paint and got to work. Her tongue was soon poking out between her teeth as she concentrated on the picturesque view before her: the untouched frozen lake that glinted like an enormous piece of glass, backed by the trees that were covered in dandruff-like flakes.

After some time, Astoria became aware of a faint clicking sound. She whipped her head around and caught sight of a sandy-haired boy ducking behind the nearest tree. He wore a scarlet and gold house tie, narrowing his identity down to a Gryffindor.

Astoria frowned and held up her brush as though she was going to paint another stroke, but in reality she was listening hard. As soon as she heard a slight crunch of snow and another click, she whirled about once more. Her gaze drifted down to the camera in the figure's hands, and her eyes widened in recognition.

"You're that Creevey kid," she said slowly, setting down her brush.

Creevey nodded sheepishly and stepped fully into view. He was a scrawny boy, and Astoria might have thought him forgettable if it weren't for his warm brown eyes and bright smile, both of which were aimed directly at her.

"Colin. My name's Colin," he said, scratching his neck. "I see you're an artist," he added unnecessarily. "I am too. Different medium, though. Obviously." He gestured to his camera.

"Right." Astoria turned back to her painting, not interested in listening to the nervous prattle of a boy she barely knew.

"We've got to have the same eye for color, though, I think," Creevey continued. Astoria could practically feel him peering over her shoulder at her work, which made her feel more than a little self-conscious. "And of course, patience is an important skill for both painters and photographers."

"Yes, well, I don't know about you, but I prefer to work in silence," she said pointedly, shifting so as to block more of her painting from view.

"Oh, yeah, that makes sense," Creevey rushed to say. "I'm sorry...Astoria, right?"

Astoria was so startled that she couldn't speak for several moments. Finally, she cleared her throat and said, "That's correct."

"Astoria," Creevey repeated, sounding almost awed. "I've always thought that was a really pretty name."

"Thank you," Astoria said primly, picking up her brush once more. She squinted at the landscape in front of her and dabbed a bit more paint onto her canvas. If that didn't signal the end of the conversation, she didn't know what would. Thankfully, Creevey seemed to understand her desire for peace at last.

"Well, I'll see you around, Astoria," he said. She glanced at him in time to catch his awkward little wave, and she smiled in spite of herself. There was something rather endearing about him...

"See you around," she replied, giving in and returning his wave.

Long after Creevey's footsteps had died away, Astoria remained sitting there, his smile etched into her mind.

...

The Slytherin common room was packed when Astoria returned around nine o'clock that night. She hadn't gone to dinner—though thankfully she found an apple from lunch in the pocket of her robes—and had instead decided to wander the castle looking for new views to paint. She had also used the time to remind herself that it was a very bad idea to befriend Gryffindors. 

"Tori! Where have you been?" Daphne demanded, suddenly appearing at her side. She threw an arm around Astoria's shoulders and pushed a drink into her hand. "The New Year's party started like an hour ago!"

Astoria gently shrugged her sister off. "Relax, Daph. I was painting, and I guess I lost track of time." It wasn't a total lie, at least. 

Daphne's face softened. "Oh. Maybe you can show me later." 

Astoria nodded and looked at the bottle Daphne had given her with some surprise. "Butterbeer?" 

"Yeah. Nott said he was going to nick us some firewhiskey but as usual, he couldn't follow through," her sister said with a roll of her eyes.

Astoria, who had just finished a sip of her drink, let out a delicate snort. "You're right. No surprises there." 

"Well, we'll make the best of it, like always," Daphne declared, tossing her dark hair over her shoulder. She nudged Astoria and grinned. "Right?"

"Sure," Astoria said absently. Her thoughts had drifted back to a certain Gryffindor, but she wasn't about to let Daphne know that. She took another swig from her bottle and looked around. "I should go put my painting stuff away."

With that, she began to walk towards the girl's dormitory. 

"Hurry back!" her sister called after her. 

...

By a quarter to midnight, the party was in full swing. Daphne appeared to be having a good time dancing to the pounding music someone had turned on an hour ago. Astoria joined her for a few songs before settling into a corner of the common room, content to just watch her fellow Slutherins party away the night. 

"Tori!" Pansy appeared at her side, flushed and slightly tipsy. "Who're you going to kiss at midnight?"

Astoria sighed. She had been hoping to avoid that question, but Pansy Parkinson was nothing if not tenacious. "No one, Pansy."

"But surely you're _interested_ in kissing someone?" Pansy persisted, her words slurring together. Unfortunately, Daphne chose that moment to join them. 

"Tori wants to kiss someone?" she giggled, leaning in so close that Astoria could smell the telltale scent of butterscotch on her breath. "Do tell, sister dearest." 

"Pansy wishes," Astoria said coldly, glaring at her sister's friend. "I have no interest in kissing anyone at midnight." But even as she said that, Creevey's face popped into her head. She immediately pushed the image away. Just because she was curious about him didn't mean she wanted to _kiss_ him. 

"Shame, that," Pansy said, not sounding at all sorry. 

"You sure there isn't anyone, Tor?" Daphne asked. "I'm sure I could... persuade someone to be your New Year's Eve kiss." 

" _If_ I wanted one, I could have arranged my own," Astoria huffed. She suddenly wished that Nott _had_ been able to procure some firewhiskey. At least then she might have been able to evade this awkward line of questioning by feigning drunkenness. 

"Ten minutes til midnight!" someone shouted. The common room erupted in cheers, and Astoria used the distraction to sneak away to her dorm room. At Daphne's insistence, she had donned a lacy, navy-blue dress with a daringly high slit—now, she slid it over her head and selected a set of silky purple pajamas to wear instead. 

Once changed, she shimmied under the thick green blankets and tried to close her eyes. Every time she did so, however, she just saw Creevey's face, so she ended up staring at the ceiling instead. 

She wasn't sure why she was so stuck on the Gryffindor boy, but she needed to put an end to that somehow. Tomorrow, she promised herself, the shouted countdown to the new year piercing her thoughts momentarily. Tomorrow she was going to figure out what to do about this whole Creevey thing. 

  
  
  
  
  



End file.
